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Italian Renaissance Theatre

Published byDominic Norman Modified over 9 years ago

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Presentation on theme: "Italian Renaissance Theatre"— Presentation transcript:

1 Italian Renaissance Theatre

2 Background Growth of trade Art changed
Merchant class grew in strength and power Patronage system – wealthy financially supported artists Art changed Religious subjects treated secularly More realistic artwork

3 Giotto’s Madonna and Child
Enthroned with Saints (1310) Raphael’s Sistine Madonna (1513)

4 More Background Literature Theatre Humanism Acting
Focused on people rather than gods Theatre Acting Architecture and Scenic Design Dramatic Criticism

5 Greek and Roman AGAIN! Revival of teaching Greek
Transfer of surviving Greek and Roman manuscripts to Italy after fall of Constantinople Publication of all existing plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Plautus, Terence, and Seneca Writings of Aristotle and Horace

6 Tragedies and Comedies
Continued to write religious dramas Sacra rappresentazioni Few playwrights tried drama, but never equaled Greek and Roman originals Written in Italian Based on classical models Adaptations or mimicking of style

7 Intermezzi Short pieces depicting mythological tales
Presented between acts of full-length plays Developed out of popular court entertainments Spectacular scenic effects Disappeared in the 1600s

8 Pastorals Similar to satyr plays At the end of a tragedy
Not as bawdy and suggestive as Greek satyr play Subject is romance Characters are usually shepherds and mythological creatures Dealt with lovers who are threatened and/or at odds with each other Action is serious; ending is happy Example: Aminta (1573) by Torquato Tasso

9 Opera Only theatrical form of Italian Renaissance to survive
Believed they were re-creating Greek tragic style Fused music with drama Libretto, or text, is considered secondary to music Operas identified by composers and not librettists

10 Elements of Opera Musical Sections Recitative – sung dialogue
Aria – solo sung accompanied by orchestra Duets – songs by two people Trios – songs by three people Quartets – songs by four people Recitative – sung dialogue

11 Great Composers and Operas
Jean-Baptiste Lully ( ) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ( ) Giuseppe Verdi ( ) Richard Wagner ( ) George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess (1935) Stephen Sondheim/Hugh Wheeler’s Sweeney Todd (1978) Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar (1971) and Phantom of the Opera (1987)

12 Commedia Dell’arte Means “play of professional artists”
Usually staged comedies Improvised presentations Scenarios written as plot outline – no scripted text

13 Teatro Olimpico (1584) Oldest surviving Italian Renaissance theater
Designed by Andrea Palladio and finished by Vincenzo Scamozzi Designed as a miniature indoor Roman theater Elliptical benches connected to scaena Scaena frons designed to look like a street Five openings in the façade Behind each opening was an alley or street that seemed to disappear into the distance 3-D buildings decreased in size as they were positioned farther from onstage opening

14 Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, Italy

15 Teatro Farnese (1618) Raised horseshoe seating Semicircular orchestra
Additional seating or flooded for aquatic scenes First theater with a proscenium arch Hides stage mechanisms for scene changes and special effects

16 Teatro Farnese in Parma, Italy

17 Scene Design Periaktoi Flat wings
Three sided device – turn for new scene change Flat wings Series of individual wings on each side of the stage placed in progression from front to back Used a groove system for scene changes

18 Pole and Chariot System

19 Dramatic Criticism Aristotle and Horace first critiqued drama
Neoclassic Ideals Formulated by Italian critics Believed that they were forming rules which would force dramatists to imitate the Greeks and Romans

20 The Rules part 1 Decorum Verisimiltude
All dramatic characters should behave in ways based on their age, profession, sex, rank, etc. Verisimiltude All drama must be “true to life” Ghosts, apparitions, and supernatural events are forbidden

21 The Rules part 2 The Unities Unity of Time Unity of Place
Dramatic action in a play should not exceed 24 hours Audiences could not accept long passages of time as “truthful” Unity of Place Limits the action of a play to one locale Unity of Action One central story – no subplots

22 The Rules part 3 Defined genres very narrowly
Tragedy dealt ONLY with royalty Comedy dealt ONLY with common people Tragedy MUST be resolved calamitously Comedy MUST be resolved happily NEVER mix Comedy and Tragedy All drama must teach a moral lesson

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